Cheeto Jesus
I’m reading through Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis with the leadership at my church. it’s quite good, and the conversation it generates is even better.
the third section - movement three: true - challenges us to recognize the presence and work of God in more than just the Bible, a church service, or a Christian book. Bell relays stories of grandeur and grief, both poles igniting an ability to touch the transcendent. he regards these times as unmasking the holy inherent in all creation, assumedly by virtue of God’s omnipresence. consider Psalm 119:64, which goes beyond an “everywhere always” awareness of God to an “everywhere always” experience of one of God’s personal, communicable attributes:
“The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees.”
“love” here is hesed, the covenant faithfulness kind of love. personal, direct, and tangible.
I’ve had “holy” experiences akin to what Bell describes. they’re utterly nourishing for my soul, for I feel like somehow in those moments I see everything clearly and yearn for God righteously. usually they capture me with a nearly ineffable profundity. so what do we do with this story, about a woman who discovered the Calvary Cheeto?
at first I almost gagged at its goofiness, even profanity. am I too proud to appreciate its transcendence, or has this crossed the line into ridiculous? if so, where’s the line? (or, is that the wrong question?)
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I try not to let these stories uset me.
It does not appear that the woman is being disrespectful to Jesus in the news story.
People see what they want to see in these items (Like the image of Mary in the office window in Tampa a few years ago). If you need to look to Cheetos for Christ in your life, you have big problems. But given their chemical make-up, most Cheetos cannot be destroyed until the fire of 2 Peter 3:12, so this woman can have it a long time. As long as she does not get into idol worship.
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I agree that she is not being disrespectful, ultimately. I think she has a rather light, humorous view on the whole thing. it’s kinda fun…
…but, to my core Q, what if she did find true inspiration in this highly processed pasteurized cheese product? what do we do with that?
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
If she did find true inspiration, then the ways of God are His own and not ours to judge.
If she did, one should be thankful it was a crunchy Cheeto, and not a puffy one.
September 14th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
[...] and compassion. but I still fear being real. it hurts to hurt publicly. as I’ve mentioned before, we’re studying Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. movement four: tassels, calls us to come out of our [...]